Our family has found a new favorite spot here in Beaumont. The city has recently opened a hike and bike trail out by the soccer fields on Dishman. It's just minutes from our house and is such a nice paved trail. We took our kids out there for the first time on Saturday. Bowman and Drew were on their bikes, Daddy on rollerblades with Claire in the baby jogger (her first ride in the baby jogger--she's almost 6 months old), and me running along side (Drew doesn't bike very fast). It was a beautiful day--a little overcast and a cool, dry breeze. We just loved it! By the end of the adventure Daddy and Bowman had made the two mile loop twice. Drew and I made it once (but enjoyed lots of blackberries along the way--The 3/4 mile trail leading in to the loop is lined with blackberries right now). Did I mention that I put in a long run that morning? So I didn't mind taking it easy with Drew and Claire. I just wish we had taken the camera along too!
The whole family enjoyed it so much that we went back for our Family Home Evening activity on Monday night. We love the new hike and bike trail! What a great addition to Beaumont!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Monday, April 28, 2008
The World's Tallest Tower
OK, maybe not the tallest tower in the world, but definitely the tallest in their world. They were soooo proud of this tower that they woke both of us up (at some unbelievably early hour) to show us.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Eating Solids
Claire is learning to eat solids! She loves to try to grab the spoon and put it in her mouth. Since she's at the stage where EVERYTHING she grabs goes to her mouth, it's actually been quite helpful. She opens her mouth every time she gets the spoon. Now, if we could just get the food to stay in her mouth... Swallowing is another story!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sea Rim Striders 5K Run at Tyrrell Park
I couldn't let Nanette have all the fun, so I had to sneak in and add my own post. I can't think of any funny stories or amazing things we have done as a family, so I'll just tell you about our Saturday that started at a very early 6 am and a very chilly 50 degrees....
The Sea Rim Striders running club held a 5K Fun Run at Tyrrell Park this morning. Even though this wasn't a "big" race, this is the first time this year Nanette and I were able to benchmark our recent training efforts. Our training has been pretty consistent since the beginning of the year, but there just haven't been many local events to compete in. Even the run this morning was just a Fun Run. No awards, no age groups, just you against the clock for your own satisfaction.
Usually, Nanette and I take turns pushing Bowman and Drew in the jogging stroller. Now that we have Claire, we are still trying to figure out whether we should each run with a stroller or whether we should trade off who gets to run each race. Thankfully we had a better option this morning. Our neice was kind enough to come to the race and watch all three children while we ran.
The weather was perfect...sunny, cool, no noticable wind. I felt strong. I wanted to see just how close I could get to my PR (Personal Record) of 21:39. I've felt so good during my recent workouts that I actually believed that I could set a new PR this morning. But not wanting to be too disappointed if I didn't I set a primary goal of breaking 22:00, and a secondary goal of PRing.
When the race started, I just tried to settle into a comfortably hard pace. My plan was to run right at a 6:55 for each mile, then kick it in for the last quarter mile. I kept watching my Garmin to make sure I wasn't starting off too fast. I was seeing 8:45... 8:32... 7:55... and I thought, "come on! pick it up!", then I watched as my pace kept dropping 7:05... 6:55...6:32... 6:10. "Whoa! slow down!" I finally settled into about a 6:50 pace for the rest of the mile. I was starting to feel it in my legs, but I felt like I was still holding back quite a bit. Mile 1 split: 6:57. Right on target! Things continued to feel good. I was at the right pace and it felt like I could hold it for quite a while. Then at the turn around point, right around 1.5 miles, I felt a side stitch starting. OK, I know how to deal with these. Change my breathing... I was able to fight it off for a while, but now my pace had dropped a little. Mile 2 split: 7:01. By this time I was starting to hurt. My legs felt heavy, my side stitch was getting worse. I kept looking at my Garmin...7:10...7:15. "Just hold on for one more mile..." Finally, I rounded the last turn, and I could see the finish line in sight. Mile 3 split: 7:18... PR was gone for sure, but I kept pushing. I could hear someone right behind me. That kept me pushing hard til the very end.
As I crossed the finish line, my kids were right there. Bo and Drew were cheering for Daddy. I ended up finishing with a time of 21:54. No PR... but I did make it in my goal time, and it is my third fastest 5K ever! Man, I was so excited for the rest of the day. It felt so good to put in a great time like that!
I took a second to catch my breath, then the kids and I cheered as Nanette crossed the finish line. I could tell by the look on her face that she also had a tough 3rd mile, but she did great. Especially when taking into account our little 5 month old Claire.
The Sea Rim Striders running club held a 5K Fun Run at Tyrrell Park this morning. Even though this wasn't a "big" race, this is the first time this year Nanette and I were able to benchmark our recent training efforts. Our training has been pretty consistent since the beginning of the year, but there just haven't been many local events to compete in. Even the run this morning was just a Fun Run. No awards, no age groups, just you against the clock for your own satisfaction.
Usually, Nanette and I take turns pushing Bowman and Drew in the jogging stroller. Now that we have Claire, we are still trying to figure out whether we should each run with a stroller or whether we should trade off who gets to run each race. Thankfully we had a better option this morning. Our neice was kind enough to come to the race and watch all three children while we ran.
The weather was perfect...sunny, cool, no noticable wind. I felt strong. I wanted to see just how close I could get to my PR (Personal Record) of 21:39. I've felt so good during my recent workouts that I actually believed that I could set a new PR this morning. But not wanting to be too disappointed if I didn't I set a primary goal of breaking 22:00, and a secondary goal of PRing.
When the race started, I just tried to settle into a comfortably hard pace. My plan was to run right at a 6:55 for each mile, then kick it in for the last quarter mile. I kept watching my Garmin to make sure I wasn't starting off too fast. I was seeing 8:45... 8:32... 7:55... and I thought, "come on! pick it up!", then I watched as my pace kept dropping 7:05... 6:55...6:32... 6:10. "Whoa! slow down!" I finally settled into about a 6:50 pace for the rest of the mile. I was starting to feel it in my legs, but I felt like I was still holding back quite a bit. Mile 1 split: 6:57. Right on target! Things continued to feel good. I was at the right pace and it felt like I could hold it for quite a while. Then at the turn around point, right around 1.5 miles, I felt a side stitch starting. OK, I know how to deal with these. Change my breathing... I was able to fight it off for a while, but now my pace had dropped a little. Mile 2 split: 7:01. By this time I was starting to hurt. My legs felt heavy, my side stitch was getting worse. I kept looking at my Garmin...7:10...7:15. "Just hold on for one more mile..." Finally, I rounded the last turn, and I could see the finish line in sight. Mile 3 split: 7:18... PR was gone for sure, but I kept pushing. I could hear someone right behind me. That kept me pushing hard til the very end.
As I crossed the finish line, my kids were right there. Bo and Drew were cheering for Daddy. I ended up finishing with a time of 21:54. No PR... but I did make it in my goal time, and it is my third fastest 5K ever! Man, I was so excited for the rest of the day. It felt so good to put in a great time like that!
I took a second to catch my breath, then the kids and I cheered as Nanette crossed the finish line. I could tell by the look on her face that she also had a tough 3rd mile, but she did great. Especially when taking into account our little 5 month old Claire.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Blogging Debut
We've been wanting to get a family blog started for a while. I keep waiting until...well, I just keep puting it off. So today I'll get started.
Each Christmas we try to send out a family DVD. We use pictures and video from throughout the year and put it together to music. Just our way of sharing the year with our families and friends. Since moving to Beaumont, remodeling our house, and adding another baby to the family, we haven't been so good about getting the DVD mailed out. It's done, just not mailed out...So, I think this will give us a place to share pictures and video (and maybe next year we won't have our Christmas DVD still not mailed at Easter time).
Each Christmas we try to send out a family DVD. We use pictures and video from throughout the year and put it together to music. Just our way of sharing the year with our families and friends. Since moving to Beaumont, remodeling our house, and adding another baby to the family, we haven't been so good about getting the DVD mailed out. It's done, just not mailed out...So, I think this will give us a place to share pictures and video (and maybe next year we won't have our Christmas DVD still not mailed at Easter time).
Monday, December 5, 2005
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
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